Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Spotify’s new Sony deal basically done | UNLIMITED | CMU

Sony Music has seemingly agreed a new licensing deal with Spotify. We are still awaiting formal confirmation of that, but sources tell Billboard that all the terms have been approved and we are just waiting for some paper to be inked and the customary press release to be written.

The new Sony deal – which follows Spotify’s recent new licensing agreements with Universal Music and indie label-repping Merlin – will provide the streaming service with access to the major’s recordings catalogue for the next few years.

By which time Spotify’s sneaky playlist manipulation will presumably mean we’re all exclusively listening to ‘fake’ music coming out of a single studio in Stockholm, and the digital firm will then tell the majors and all those pesky popstars to go fuck themselves. Or maybe not. Probably not. Definitely not.

Specific terms of the new Sony deal are not known, of course, though it is assumed the major – in line with its rivals – will have agreed to a slight reduction in its revenue share split in return for increased data and marketing tools and the option to window major releases off Spotify’s free level for a fortnight, like all those top Universal and indie label artists are now not doing.

Spotify bosses have been negotiating hard for some time now to renew the firm’s deals with key rights owners so that it has multi-year arrangements in place before opening itself up to the glare of Wall Street through a stock exchange listing.